Nutella Cinnamon Buns

When you think of Christmas morning, what do you feel? I always imagine the smell of pine, the rustle of wrapping paper, the excitement of opening my door and feeling my stocking against the door handle..and now I can add the smell of Nutella cinnamon buns to the list.

Christmas morning should be about spending time with family, sipping coffee in your warmest onesie, and not having to worry about entertaining and laying out the perfect brunch. These cinnamon buns are easy to pull together the night before and they refrigerate well. The smell of yeast rising while you finish the last of your wrapping will make you almost wish you could bake the batch that very same night!

If you don’t have Nutella in your cupboard you can stay with the traditional mixture of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and the smell will still entice your late sleepers out of bed all the same.

Make dough:
Mix together 1 1/3 cups flour, yeast, and salt. set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, butter, and sugar over med-low heat until it reaches 120-130F, stirring constantly (i stuck my regular meat thermometer into the pot and it worked fine. If you don’t have one, it reaches this temperature right before the mixture starts to simmer).
Pour into the dry mixture and beat until smooth using the hook attachment on your stand mixer or hand mixer.
Add egg and 1/2 cup flour and beat for another 2 minutes. Gradually add enough flour to make a soft dough (probably cup or two).
Knead dough about a dozen times, or until it becomes a smooth ball. Place into large bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size (the perfect time to wrap the remainder of your presents!).

Make the filling:
Mix melted butter, sugar and spices together and set aside. Melt Nutella in 10 second increments, stirring well after each time. Set aside

Assemble:
Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and roll out to a half inch thick rectangle. Brush dough with sugar, butter and spices mixture until dough is covered, leaving a small boarder. Then brush a thick layer of Nutella over the dough until all the Nutella is used up (don’t forget to steal a couple bites of melted Nutella in the process).
Roll the dough up tightly into a log. At this point you can wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees and using a serrated knife, cut rolls into 2 inch thick pieces.
If you let your dough get to soft like mine, and they end up looking a little misshapen, don’t worry one bit – they will puff up beautifully in the oven and you won’t even notice.

Bake in pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, or until tops just start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Top with a little icing sugar and buttermilk mixture and serve warm.